Steve Arstad
I have been looking for news in the South Okanagan - SImilkameen for 20 years, having turned a part time lifelong interest into a full time profession. After five years publishing a local newsletter, several years working as a correspondent / stringer for several local newspapers and seven years as editor of a Similkameen weekly newspaper, I joined iNFOnews.ca in 2014. My goal in the news industry has always been to deliver accurate and interesting articles about local people and places. My interest in the profession is life long - from my earliest memories of grade school, I have enjoyed writing.
As an airborne geophysical surveyor I travelled extensively around the globe, conducting helicopter borne mineral surveys.
I also spent several years at an Okanagan Falls based lumber mill, producing glued-wood laminated products.
As a member of the Kaleden community, I have been involved in the Kaleden Volunteer Fire Department for 22 years, and also serve as a trustee on the Kaleden Irrigation District board.
I am currently married to my wife Judy, of 26 years. We are empty-nesters who enjoy living in Kaleden with our Welsh Terrier, Angus, and cat, Tibbs.
Our two daughters, Meagan and Hayley, reside in Richmond and Victoria, respectively.
Steve Arstad's Stories
Bad Tattoo wins medals for good brew
PENTICTON - A Penticton craft brewery, not even in business for a year, has attracted award winning national attention. Bad Tattoo was awarded two silver medals in the 2015 Canadian Brewing Awards held last week in Niagara Falls, Ontario, according to a media release The brewery won silver for best North American-style amber lager as...
Waterfront walkway project completed
PENTICTON - The City of Penticton officially completed its latest waterfront project yesterday, just in time for the summer season. The Peach Plaza portion of the Okanagan Lake walkway opened, June 12, completing the sidewalk from the SS Sicamous all the way to Rotary Park. The project included construction of a three metre wide concrete...
Robbery at a Penticton Scotiabank branch
PENTICTON - Penticton RCMP are on the lookout for a suspect after bank robbery earlier this week. Police were called to the Scotiabank branch at 2062 Main St. at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9 after bank employees reported a robbery. RCMP say a man entered the bank and handed a note to a...
Heavy intoxication cause of Sawmill Lake drowning: Coroner
PENTICTON - A suspicious drowning death that occurred last year in a lake near Oliver has been deemed accidental following a report by the B.C. Coroners Service. No trauma was found on Grace Marie Capot-Blanc’s body to indicate she was forced into the water. She was, however, heavily intoxicated at the time of her death,...
Impaired driver wreaks path of destruction in Penticton
PENTICTON - An impaired driver operating his vehicle “like he was playing bumper cars” ran amok through Penticton streets. Penticton RCMP Staff Sgt. Kurt Lozinski says police arrested the driver of a white BMW yesterday afternoon, June 11, for impaired driving on Wilson Street in the city’s south end. Lozinski says no police chase was...
Murdered Penticton man remembered as a diligent worker
PENTICTON - The man murdered in Penticton last week was a father of four and worked at the Copper Mountain Mine. Frank Armitage worked with Darren Leadbeater, 36, the person police named yesterday as the man murdered at Golden Sands Resort in Penticton, and says he was shocked when he learned of his co-worker's death. “I knew...
City’s triathlon investment proves costly for Penticton taxpayers
PENTICTON - The City of Penticton has divested itself of the Challenge Penticton race with the dissolution of the Penticton Triathlon Race Society and it turns out the city’s investment in the race wasn’t a great one from a taxpayer’s point of view. The City spent $377,022 to run Challenge in the first year and...
Bon Jovi to play Stanley Park
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Book your hotels and get your bags packed, rock superstar Bon Jovi is coming to Vancouver. Jon Bon Jovi and The Kings of Suburbia will be playing Brockton Fields in Stanley Park this summer before the band embarks on an Asian tour. They’ll be playing for three nights beginning Friday, Aug. 21. The...
Penticton mayor pays up for city losing Bike to Work Challenge
PENTICTON - City of Penticton officials got off easy in this year’s victory ride following the Bike to Work Week Challenge between the city and Regional District Okanagan Similkameen. In previous years, mayor and city staff have ridden tricycles and penny farthing bicycles and dressed up as barnyard animals as a consequence of losing the...
Deadline for hotel proposal on South Okanagan Events Centre property extended
PENTICTON - The City of Penticton’s search for a developer to build a first class hotel on the South Okanagan Events Centre property has been so successful it’s been extended for another two weeks. The deadline for the city’s Expression of Interest was extended to June 29 following a request from a potential proponent, communications...
Restrictions on channel use until end of the month
PENTICTON - Those wishing to beat the heat with a trip down the channel need to be aware the channel won’t be completely open to floaters until the end of the month. Several floaters could be seen travelling south beyond Green Mountain Road in swift current on the afteroon on Monday, June 8. Penticton Indian...
B.C. SPCA to acquire Penticton Veterinary Hospital
PENTICTON - The local SPCA is receiving a generous gift from a well known Penticton veterinarian. The B.C. SPCA announced June 10 it will be acquiring the Penticton Veterinary Hospital from retiring Penticton veterinarian Dr. Steve Harvey. The hospital will continue to retain existing staff and will offer the same full services to the public,...
Close shave at the OK Barber Shop
PENTICTON - The quick actions of the Okanagan Falls Volunteer Fire Department helped save the community’s only barber shop early this morning, June 10. Firefighters were called to Main Street and Ninth Avenue shortly after midnight to find flames racing up the west side of the OK Barber Shop. “It appears to have started in...
‘Summer island surfer vibe’ in the air at Skaha’s Sudbury Beach
PENTICTON - The early summer heat being experienced in Penticton has at least one local entrepreneur smiling these days. Darcy Godfrey is the owner of Glow SUP Adventures, located at Sudbury Beach on Penticton’s Skaha Lake side. She operates the only two concessions on both Hulley and Sudbury beaches, and lately she’s beaming like the...
Motorcyclist succumbs to injuries following Oliver crash
PENTICTON - A motorcyclist has died after injuries suffered in an accident near Oliver yesterday, June 9. Cpl. Shana McLeod of South Okanagan Traffic Services in Keremeos says the Oliver RCMP attended the scene of a single vehicle motorcycle accident in the 7600-block of Highway 97 on June 9 at approximately 3 p.m. A witness...